Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name … and also where women’s sports finally get the attention they deserve.
Welcome to a bar that finally has both.
At this Portland pub, the TV screens are dominated by female athletes, whether that be in gymnastics, basketball, soccer, you name it. The drinks served come from a women-owned distillery and have clever sports-themed names, like the GOAT (gin, orgeat, aperol, tangerine juice) and the Triple Axel, a nod to Tonya Harding’s signature move.
The spot is aptly named The Sports Bra. Because yes, it supports women.
According to a Unesco study, 40% of professional athletes are female. And yet, women’s sports make up only 4% of all sports coverage.
Founder, owner and sports fan Jenny Nguyen told The Guardian, “Our approach is to take that 4% that is showing and put it on blast.”
Nguyen came up with the idea after watching a championship women’s game on a tiny TV—the only one in the bar—with no sound. She knew the only way she’d ever be able to watch a game with all the fanfare would be to create her own space.
Her unique establishment aims to not only shine a light on the gender imbalance of sports coverage, but to tip the scales as well.
At The Sports Bra, there’s really only one winning strategy at play: “belonging, acceptance, and celebration for all.”
The food menu includes much more than traditional bar grub to accommodate for vegetarian, vegan and even dairy-free folks (nachos are great, but choices are better), plus you won’t be seeing a “women only” sign on the door.
Even kids are welcome, as the bar believes “exposing them to women’s sports can have lasting impacts on their understanding of equity in sports and in life.” It sounds like an oasis for the mom who just wants to eat some fried cauliflower and watch some WNBA with kids in tow.
Five television screens are mounted on the walls, along with framed jerseys and memorabilia from various women’s teams. When there are no women’s games available to play, the TVs will simply be turned off. Again, illuminating the lack of coverage available.
Nguyen shared that “I would love to play 24-7 women’s sports in here, but it’s just not possible.” Rather than admit defeat, however, she added, “we use that weakness as a talking point to draw attention to it.”
In making this dream a reality, Nguyen has been a team player. “It really has taken a village,” she told Oregon Live, calling her staff “the best staff on the planet.”
That village includes Nguyen’s cousin Ayu, who painted the bar’s giant sports themed mural filled with bold greens and pinks.
The bar had its grand opening on April 1, but the turnout was no joke. Crowds spilled out onto the sidewalk. Cheerleaders waved pom poms. The Kickstarter campaign had already raised $100,000 from backers. People happily waited for hours just to take a peek inside. Safe to say, they were betting on the bar’s success.
It might be the only one of its kind for now, but hopefully that will change soon. In the meantime, we’ll be cheering Nguyen and her team from the sidelines.
21-year-old indie-pop up-and-comer Jordana began busking at 13 years old on the boardwalk of her town of North Beach, Maryland. Now she’s prepping for the release of her new album Face The Wall, arriving just next month. She unveiled the single “To The Ground” today, a luscious, introspective ballad about getting older.
She opens by singing, “Accountability is something that should not be new to me,” a vulnerable confession that showcases her determination to move towards her goal of becoming more responsible. The atmosphere of the track is laid-back and glowing; the sound is similar to that of her lo-fi peers Deb Never and Chapell Roan, but it also has an alt-rock edge, like Beabadoobee on her most recent album, Fake It Flowers.
“It’s about being alone and starting from square one, not knowing how and where to start, a venture into adulthood,” Jordana explains. “With the path to growing up, it’s wanting to not ask for any help on any growth to feel accomplished and self brought up, emotionally and physically. The only help being asked for in this song is to be stripped completely and figuratively thrown to the ground to get back up.”
Listen to “To The Ground” above.
Face The Wall is out 5/20 via Grand Jury. Pre-order it here.
— DJ Jazzy Jeff the Tutor (@djjazzyjeff215) March 28, 2022
Jazz has since expanded on his thoughts during an interview with Chicago radio station 107.5 WCGI (via People). “Don’t get it twisted that it was something he was proud of. It was a lapse in judgment, you know?” The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor said. “I think the thing that I’ve realized is I don’t know too many people that has had the least amount of lapse of judgment than him. I can name 50 times that he should’ve smacked the sh*t out of somebody and he didn’t.” Unfortunately, that 51st time was during Hollywood’s biggest night when 15 million people were watching at home.
Jazz continued:
“So, for him to have a lapse in judgment, he’s human. And I think a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don’t think people like that are human.”
Here’s a dramatic reenactment of DJ Jazzy Jeff protecting Smith from criticism:
Others (not named Billy Crystal and Jim Carrey) in the entertainment industry who have worked with Smith have also come to his defense. “To me, it’s just like, enough of it. All right, so a dramatic thing happened, but I just think we’ve got to get our priorities straight,” Bad Boys director Michael Bay said about the Slap. Would he work with Smith again? “Absolutely, 100 percent,” he replied. “He’s a very even-keeled guy.”
The Congressional Committee on Oversight and Reform began looking into the organization’s business practices recently (on top of the hostile workplace allegations), learning from a former executive that the team kept “two books” of finances to deceive the league, and on Tuesday released its findings to the Federal Trade Commission, including on the record statements from former team sales executive Jason Friedman.
You can read the report in its entirety here, but there are two findings highlighted at the top of the report that figure to be the most damning to Snyder and the organization, both in losing further trust with fans and the league itself. The first is that the team purposefully created roadblocks and made it difficult for fans to get back their refundable deposit placed for season tickets after their lease term had ended, resulting in $5 million still having not been returned as of 2016.
According to Mr. Friedman, and consistent with documents he provided to the Committee, as of July 2016 the team had unreturned security deposits for “around 2,000 accounts” belonging to customers and fans totaling “approximately $5 million.
That money was then hidden from the NFL to avoid having it count as revenue from football business, along with other NFL ticket revenue that the organization would mark as revenue from licensing fees and handling fees, so it wouldn’t end up in the league’s revenue-sharing. Friedman explained to the committee how they would do this by collecting $11 more per seat from customers than they reported to the NFL and would hide that as licensing fees for things like college football games and concerts at FedEx Field.
Well, in this particular case and other cases similar to this, $162,360 was shielded from the NFL revenue sharing program; that even though we sold $811,800 worth of tickets, we reported that sale to the NFL at a total of $721,600, leaving $162,360 of juice, of money that would just go right into the owner’s pocket and didn’t have to be exposed to the NFL revenue sharing program.
…
So our stadium has a manifest similar to a manifest that you would see for airplane seating, and each seat has a dollar amount assigned to it. In this particular case, the dollar amount assigned to each one of these seats in the manifest was $44; but in fact we collected $55 per seat from this customer, times 14,760 seats times $11 per seat equals $162,360, which that amount would then be allocated to a different type of line item in our database, a line item that was not exposed to NFL revenue sharing.
The fact that the committee sites specific emails showing this practice taking place, along with this interview from Friedman, certainly seems to provide them with a smoking gun to pin some serious financial fraud claims on the organization. From an NFL perspective, if there were anything that would get other owners to act against Snyder and try to push him out, withholding money from the rest of them certainly seems like the thing that would get their attention. You can get away with a lot of things as an NFL owner, including fostering a toxic workplace environment, but messing with the money is not on that list and it’s very possible that like Al Capone, Snyder won’t be going down for the worst things, like dreadful treatment of women and other employees within the organization, but for the NFL’s version of tax evasion, hiding money from the league’s revenue-sharing program.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s not doing so fantastic these days. He really thought that he could bust into Ukraine with imperialistic ways and have this invasion one-and-done. Instead, he’s met resistance from molotov-cocktail grandmas while Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to stand firm and help withstand the constant Russian assaults by troops who, once captured, reveal the truth, which is that the Russian army was ill-prepared by the Kremlin.
Putin, who’s also gotta be upset about his waning Botox supply, has now decided to take matters into his own hands and fire those who he blames for his Ukraine failures. As initially reported by The Sunday Times (and followed up upon by Fox News), Putin’s gone on a firing spree of secret agents, who he blames for the fiasco:
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears not to be going according to plan, and President Vladimir Putin seems intent on blaming his old colleagues at the Federal Security Bureau (FSB) – the intelligence agency successor to the KGB – for the quagmire.
Putin reportedly purged more than 100 agents from the FSB, and his government sent the head of the department responsible for Ukraine to prison. About 150 FSB officers have been dismissed, The Times of London reported Monday.
What’s more, Putin placed Russian Intelligence General Sergei Beseda under arrest and shipped him off to Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which is run by the FSB. The facility was one used by Stalin for torture in the 1930s, and all of this appears to be retaliation from Putin. The Telegraph further reports that Putin appears to be turning on all of his security officials, all while the world’s watching Russia struggle after its failure to slam-dunk an early victory in Ukraine. It’s all autocratic behavior, to say the very least, and sadly, with the expense of a great loss of life.
Whoopi Goldberg is taking a leave of absence from The View, but don’t worry, this time it’s on her own terms and has nothing to do with controversial remarks about the Holocaust. Just like she did with The Stand for CBS All Access (now Paramount+), Goldberg is helping bringing another book to life by starring in Amazon’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. Although, it sounds like Goldberg will be missing for a while longer and not filming episodes of the daytime talk show like she did in her The Stand wardrobe.
“If you’re wondering where Whoopi is, the girl’s got a movie she’s making and she will be back when she finishes whatever she’s doing,” Joy Behar announced during Monday’s episode of The View. “So she’s gone for a while.”
As for why Goldberg won’t be pulling acting and hosting duties, she’s in Scotland shooting the Gaiman adaptation. That’s kind of a rough commute back to New York where The View is filmed. According to Variety, Goldberg is playing the “menacing” Bird Woman from the novel:
Bird Woman is the God of Birds and a key antagonist in the series. She’s the embodiment of birds. Not just beautiful stately birds in flight. Anyone who’s had a close encounter with a seagull knows that some birds are more dangerous than others, and Bird Woman is the most dangerous of them all. Long ago Anansi did her wrong. Now may be her chance to turn the tables.
“I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic,” Goldberg told Variety in a statement announcing her Anansi Boys casting.
Does anyone drink cow’s milk anymore? Judging by the refrigerated section of the grocery store, the answer is obviously “yes.. but not as often.” If you allow your eyes to scan elsewhere you’ll see that a whole bunch of plant-based milk brands is beginning to take up shelf space as more and more people ditch cow’s milk due to allergic reactions, lactose intolerance, environmental concerns, a healthy hate for the dairy industry, or from simply being weirded out by the idea of drinking the milk of some other animal.
It makes sense, milk is kind of weird, but we drink it for a reason. It’s packed with essential nutrients, more so than all of the milk alternatives out there, which are typically fortified with vitamins and minerals just to get them in the same nutritional ballpark as cow’s milk. The nutrients in cow’s milk are also more bio-available (absorbable by the body). According to Healthline, those nutrients include protein, iron, niacin, vitamins B, E, K, thiamin, and selenium, as well as calcium that’ll keep your bones and teeth healthy. Also, milk has given us the best butter and cheese, and for that alone, we’ll always have a special place in our hearts for the OG.
Still… sometimes you just don’t want to mess with milk and we’re living in an age where you don’t have to. There are all sorts of different plant-based milk alternatives readily available at every grocery store. Unfortunately, a lot of them are also garbage. So we’ve taken a deep dive into every popular plant-based milk alternative currently on grocery store shelves in an effort to give you a full run-down of all the good and bad of each. Whether you’re looking for milk for your cereal, soup, or latte, or you’re baking a cake or making a smoothie, we’ve got you covered.
Wait… How Do You Milk Any Of This Stuff?
It’s something that you might not think about because in a lot of cases plant-based milk looks like milk, but you can’t exactly milk an oat. Or an almond. Or any of this stuff. So then what the hell is plant-based milk? In most cases, it’s a bunch of ground-up beans, grains, plants, or nuts that are mixed with water, vitamins and minerals, sometimes sugar or vanilla flavoring, emulsifiers, thickeners, and gums, and perhaps the most shocking of all, oils. That’s all blended together to make, well, “milk.” But what do you want people to call this stuff? Somewhat interestingly, in most cultures outside of the Anglosphere, they call them “drinks” — oat drink, soy drink, almond drink, etc. But we digress.
Like plant-based meat, plant-based milk requires a whole lot of processing. So in order to get that consistency milk is so famous for, a lot of plant-based milk options need some kind of fat mixed in. That means a lot of brands opt for oil since it’s dairy-free and contains healthy fats (assuming it’s good oil, though in most cases, it won’t be). Once you know plant-based milk has oil in it, you won’t be able to not taste it. We sincerely apologize for letting you know.
What To Look For:
When it comes to plant-based milk, the fewer ingredients the better. It’s normal to see emulsifiers like sunflower lecithin and dipotassium phosphate, or vitamin and mineral blends, and salt. You’re going to want to stay away from things like added sugar, sweeteners, the phrase “natural flavors,” long lists of ingredients you have a hard time pronouncing, and something called carrageenan. Carrageenan is an emulsifying agent derived from seaweed that, according to MedicineNet, scientists believe can induce inflammation and lead to chronic illnesses and digestive disorders.
We should also note that certain low-quality oils may also lead to inflammation, but that’s a whole other guide we’d have to dive into so we can’t really cover that here. You may also want to spend the extra dollars for products that are organic, considering a lot of pesticides go into the growing of things like almonds, peas, and oats. In short — look for unsweetened “milk” with a shortlist of ingredients that contain good levels of protein, calcium, and vitamins, and stay away from carrageenan.
The Milks:
Almond Milk
Blue Diamond
The Milk:
Almond milk is hands-down the most popular plant-based milk currently on the market. Tasting it, it’s easy to see why. It has a soft and creamy texture with a delicately nutty flavor and is, according to Medical News Today, naturally high in fat, vitamin E, calcium, and potassium while being low in calories and, unfortunately, protein. Generally, most almond milk brands further fortify it with calcium, more protein, and vitamins A and D, giving it a nutritional profile that isn’t that far off from cow’s milk. Though it is less bioavailable, which means you don’t absorb it quite as well.
Unfortunately, almond farming is very damaging to the environment considering almonds require a lot of water to grow and most almonds in the world come from California, a state that is always in the news for being in a drought. Maybe stop growing almonds, California! No seriously, I say this as a Californian, stop growing almonds here, please!
Where it sucks:
Baking. Don’t substitute cow’s milk for almond milk in a baking recipe. Well, let us walk that back a bit, you can substitute 1:1 but you shouldn’t. Almond milk has the high-fat content to act as a good substitute in most recipes, but the flavor leaves a lot to be desired. Milk is sweet, almond milk — especially the unsweetened stuff — is not, which will result in your recipes always tasting inferior when compared to using real dairy. The texture will also be less fluffy.
Where it thrives:
In almost every other use for milk that you can think of. Need something for your cereal? Almond milk. Need some cream for your at-home coffee? Bam, use almond milk. Making a vegan cheese? Almond milk is the stuff!
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
Smoothies and milkshakes. As I mentioned before, almond milk has a pretty high-fat content, which is why it works in baking (even though, again, we don’t suggest it). So when it comes to smoothies and milkshakes, it’s one of the best choices you can use next to cow’s milk. It nails that creamy consistency.
Banana Milk
Mooala
The Milk:
Banana milk is made with blended banana and water, so it is essentially banana juice. If that sounds delicious to you, we’re happy to report that it is. Banana milk is one of the best-tasting milk alternatives out there thanks to its natural sweetness. Some banana milk on the shelves is blended with other plant-based milk, so keep that in mind when looking at ingredients lists.
This option shines for being low in carbs, calories, and added sugars, as well as being allergen-free so long as it isn’t mixed with nut-based milk (or you’re not allergic to bananas). Unfortunately, it’s also low in protein and other important nutrients. So if you’re looking for a milk alternative for flavor, this is that milk. If you want milk for nutritional reasons, this one is one of the weaker options.
Where it sucks:
Savory options. Don’t make a bechamel sauce or any other cream sauce with banana milk unless you want it to taste… banana-y.
Where it thrives:
Smoothies, obviously. Banana milk is a great way to double down on banana flavor when you’re mixing up a smoothie.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
As a great baking option. Sometimes. Yes, banana milk tastes a lot like a banana. So if you don’t want the taste of banana in your cake, don’t use it. But if you do, it really adds that magical touch of something extra. Don’t use it to make banana nut muffins… banana-ier, instead add a subtle touch of banana to things like a devil’s food cake, or even pumpkin spice cupcakes.
Cashew Milk
Elmhurst
The Milk:
If you’re feeling guilty about being an almond milk drinker but love the flavor, give cashew milk a try! Cashew milk also has a deliciously creamy consistency with a naturally sweet nutty flavor that is still low in sugar. It’s not as delicate as almond milk, but it’s (slightly) better for the environment.
This is the sort of milk that you should definitely learn to make at home, as it’s one of the easier ones to make right. But, unfortunately, while your end product will be delicious, it’ll be pretty free from substantial nutrition. If you’re looking for something vitamin and mineral fortified, you’ll find it in the grocery aisles, but that usually comes with a whole lot of other ingredients and thickeners.
Where it sucks:
While you can use it as a 1:1 substitute for milk in baking, again, we suggest against that. It’s a better choice than almond milk because most cashew milk will come sweetened, but it still leaves your baking recipes missing that extra dose of sweetness that cow’s milk provides.
Where it thrives:
Like almond milk, cashew milk is good for smoothies and milkshakes, but also makes a great milk substitute in savory foods.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
As a plant-based milk base for a curry.
Coconut Milk
Silk
The Milk:
Coconut milk comes in two categories: canned, and what is called “coconut beverage,” which is the refrigerated stuff. The canned stuff is thick and creamy and made from actual coconut and acts as a delicious cooking ingredient and is even thick enough to be whipped into cream. It’s the sort of stuff you should use in a curry.
Coconut milk beverage on the other hand is the sort of thing you’d put into your coffee, drink from a glass, or eat with your cereal. You could bake with both but not in equal measures!
Where it sucks:
In certain recipes. While you can substitute cow’s milk 1:1 with coconut milk beverage, sometimes to great results like when baking, it’s going to sometimes impact the flavor in adverse ways. Coconut milk isn’t quite as neutral as cow’s milk, if you reduce it down into a sauce, that sauce is going to have a coconut quality to it. If that’s not what you’re going for, it can be a bad thing.
Where it thrives:
It’s delicious in baking if you like coconut!
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
It is hands down the best milk to eat cereal with, even compared to cow’s milk. Eat cereal milk with coconut milk and I promise you you’ll never look back.
Hemp Milk
Pacific Foods
The Milk:
High in protein, hemp milk is a fantastic plant-based milk alternative with a distinct earthy flavor and a thick and creamy consistency. Hemp milk is also high in omega 3s and iron and has skin and heart-healthy nutrients but is low in calcium, according to Heathline. Yes, hemp is a cannabis plant. No, it won’t get you stoned. Even if you drink the whole thing in one sitting.
Where it sucks:
Baking. Again. Like a lot of the other plant-based milk, it’s not that it doesn’t make a good substitute for cow’s milk consistency-wise, it’s just that the flavor is way too distinct, so it messes with the balance of sweetness in your baked goods.
Where it thrives:
Savory dishes, it has an earthiness that adds a lot of distinct character to sauces.
Where you wouldn’t expect it
As the base of a double espresso shot latte with a generous swirl of honey. That’s earthy bitter perfection in a cup.
Flax Milk
Good Karma
The Milk:
Flax milk — made from flaxseeds crushed and mixed with water — is a great choice for those looking for plant-based milk that doesn’t contain nuts. It has a tasty earthy flavor but is usually pretty low in protein and often comes fortified with all sorts of stuff.
Where it sucks:
Coffee. It doesn’t add a creamy lift like a lot of the other options on this list. Instead, it leaves coffee tasting flat and dirty.
Where it thrives:
In savory dishes.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
Crepes. It’s a little too thin for good pancakes. But if you’re looking to make a crepe, its silkiness will keep your crepe from ever-rising too thick.
Hazelnut Milk
Elhurst
The Milk:
Hazelnut milk is very similar to almond milk in flavor, but the nutritional profiles are slightly different. Hazelnut milk tends to provide about double the calories of almond milk, double the fat, double the protein, and a comparable amount of carbs while producing a smaller carbon footprint.
It’s also a great source of Vitamin B and E.
Where it sucks:
Of all the nut milks, it’s my least favorite for coffee. The nutty notes are just a bit too pronounced and it curdles easily.
Where it thrives:
Smoothies. If almond milk has never really worked for you as part of your smoothie, give the ‘ol hazelnut a try.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
In cereal. Something about the nutty and earthy flavor just brings simple non-sugary cereals like Cheerios alive. I strongly suggest you pour it into a bowl of the multi-grain variety.
Macadamia Nut Milk
Milkadamia
The Milk:
Like all nut-based milks, Macadamia milk is made by blending soaked nuts in water, so it’s another plant-based milk that someone in your friend circle will undoubtedly remind you is “actually just macadamia juice.” Nobody cares Kevin, shut the f*ck up and drink your milk.
What we love about this milk, aside from its sweet creamy almost buttery texture and flavor, is that it’s incredibly easy to make on your own. Just soak a bunch of nuts in water overnight, strain, throw in a blender with water and a pinch of salt and blend to the consistency that you like, and voila! You’ve got your very own milk, or as your local coffee shop likes to say (and charge you extra for) “housemade macadamia milk” without all the packaging waste that buying a supermarket brand would give off.
Macadamia nuts have more fat than other nut-based milk and also provide protein, fiber, manganese, thiamine, copper, magnesium, iron, and vitamin B6. Not bad, but not milk, so if you’re looking for something a bit more fortified you should probably reach for the supermarket brands which typically add in vitamin A, D, calcium, and on some occasions, more protein.
Where it sucks:
Baking. The fat you need is there, but if it’s the unsweetened stuff it won’t be sweet enough and if it’s the sweetened stuff, it’ll end up tasting too noticeably nutty. That’s not an issue if you want that macadamia quality in your recipe, but it won’t taste quite as good as if you just implemented the actual nut into the recipe in the first place.
Where it thrives:
Coffee, it’s just as delicious, creamy, and smooth as almond and cashew milk with a slightly earthier flavor. It also works well in soup recipes that call for milk as part of the stock.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
As part of a keto diet. It’s packed with more fat than any other nut-based milk.
Oat Milk
OatLy
The Milk:
If almond milk is the current favorite of the plant-based milk buying crowd, then oat milk is a close second. Made from whole oats and water, oat milk tastes a lot like a less intense version of oatmeal with a creamy texture and an earthy and nutty flavor.
Where it sucks:
It doesn’t have the neutrality of cow’s milk, so in certain dishes, it imparts an earthy flavor that can be off-putting and give your baked goods a health-store quality. It can be used to an advantage, but not always.
Where it thrives:
In lattes. Like hemp milk, oat milk’s nutty earthy flavor profile pairs perfectly with espresso.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
In smoothies. Oats sound like a dull way to enhance your smoothie when you compare it to something like banana milk or almond milk, but the earthy nutty flavor of oat milk adds a nice sense of texture that can calm down overly sweetened smoothies. It’s a nice balance.
Pea Milk
Ripple
The Milk:
Peas are incredible. The tiny beady vegetables are packed with Omega-3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, as well as vitamins C, E, zinc, a bunch of antioxidants, and most importantly (because we’re talking milk), protein. A half of a cup of peas packs a whopping 4 grams of protein, that doesn’t sound a lot but it’s a half cup of peas we’re talking about. You can literally shoot that back like some cheap whiskey, and we’re not even talking about it in milk form!
Pea milk is made from soaked yellow split peas mixed with oil as an emulsifier and in a lot of cases, vanilla extract. It has a creamy flavor and a smooth texture that is very similar to almond milk, though the aftertaste isn’t quite as pleasing and sweet, and packs just as much protein per cup as actual cow’s milk.
It’s also less environmentally taxing than almond milk production, one pea milk company Ripple claims that it uses 86% less greenhouse gas emissions to make than almond milk. That’s pretty damn significant! It’s also nut, lactose, gluten, and soy-free.
So why hasn’t pea milk taken over and become as popular as almond milk? Well for one, it’s called pea milk. Seriously, as childish as it is to say, it’s just unappetizing. It doesn’t matter how grown up you are. “Would you like a glass of pea milk” is just a sentence nobody wants to hear.
Aside from that, it’s also packed with a lot of things that aren’t peas. Ripple’s unsweetened Pea Milk contains water, a pea protein blend, sunflower oil, vitamin D2 (naturally available in plants but less absorbable than D3), algal oil, tricalcium, and dipotassium phosphate, and some thickening gums. It’s not perfect, but pea milk fans swear by it.
Where it sucks:
In coffee. I don’t like how the strange aftertaste interacts with the bitter and earthy notes of coffee.
Where it thrives:
Baking and in any recipe that calls for milk. It’s creamy enough to hold its own against cow’s milk while also providing enough protein to not totally f*ck up the cake you’re baking
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
Smoothies. It packs the protein you need, the creaminess to nail the proper texture, and it’s one of the most environmentally friendly options on this list, which means it should be the only milk you make your smoothies with, you fake hippie.
Peanut Milk
Elhurst
The Milk:
One of the newer nut-based milks on the scene, peanut milk is naturally high in fat, protein, vitamin E, vitamin B-6, and magnesium and the peanut requires a fraction of the water it takes to produce almonds. It’s also delicious, with a grassy natural flavor and a peanut-y after-taste. We have no doubt it would surpass almond milk in popularity if it didn’t cost so damn much.
It’s on average about twice the price of almond milk. Another big hurdle is that a lot of people are unfortunately allergic to peanuts.
Where it sucks:
Coffee and anything calling for a more neutral flavor. You will taste peanuts with this stuff, it’s unavoidable, even if it’s a sweetened variety.
Where it thrives:
It’s high in fat so it’s a great option for baked recipes.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
As the base for a curry. It’s high in fat and provides a distinct flavor that you can use to your advantage.
Rice Milk
Rice Dream
The Milk:
Rice milk is by far the thinnest plant-based milk substitute on the market. It’s also low in fat, protein, and fiber, and is usually sweetened. So why would anyone ever pick rice milk? Because it’s soy-free, dairy-free, and doesn’t contain allergens like nuts. Still, as far as plant-based milk go if you can stomach other options, this is the one we recommend the least.
Where it sucks:
Baking. I know we’ve said that about almost every milk on this list, but rice milk is the absolute worst for baking. The consistency is just way too thin. Do not use this as a 1:1 substitution for cow’s milk, it’ll throw everything off.
Where it thrives:
Cereal, that’s pretty much it.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
In coffee, it tastes somehow remarkably similar to cow’s milk.
Soy Milk
Silk
The Milk:
If you hopped in a time machine and traveled back about 15 years, the only plant-based milk you’d find on grocery store shelves would be soy milk. The option for using soy as plant-based milk was a no-brainer, soy milk contains a lot of protein and is naturally full of antioxidants while still being rich and creamy like cow’s milk. It’s sweet and can be used as a 1:1 substitute for milk on any occasion, from making butter to baking, to really, any type of cooking.
So why isn’t it the most popular? Let’s get to that.
Where it sucks:
Soy milk is interchangeable with cow’s milk, so the flaws with this milk are less in what it can and can’t do, and more about why you might not want to drink soy. A lot of people are allergic to soy, so they can’t drink soy milk. Also, soy farming is incredibly harmful to the environment.
Rain forests are cut down and burnt in order to make way for soybean farms (which also includes animal protein production too). It’s one of the worst environmental offenders, even when compared to almond milk. Soy also contains phytoestrogens that may mess with the hormonal levels of infants, children, and adolescents. According to Livestrong, contrary to popular belief, those phytoestrogens should have little impact on the hormone levels of fully grown men.
Where it thrives:
In cooking. Use it in any recipe that calls for milk and soy milk will get the job done.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
Of the plant-based milk on this list, soy froths up better than any other milk that isn’t cow’s. Take it from me, I worked as a barista for five years.
Walnut Milk
Mariani
The Milk:
Walnuts are one of the healthiest nuts on the planet, they’re full of protein, magnesium, fiber, and more omega-3 fatty acid than any other tree nut, while also providing less sugar. I’ve had it a ground total of two times in my life because, for whatever reason, it’s one of the rarer nut milks you’ll find on supermarket aisles.
Generally, walnut milk tends to be fortified with calcium, iron, and vitamin D.
Where it sucks:
Like the hazelnut, I don’t like how the walnut’s bitter and chalky flavors pair with the complex flavors of a good coffee roast. I feel like the strong flavor masks and muddies the brew in a way almond milk doesn’t.
Where it thrives:
Tho, especially considering the high omega 3 content.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
Walnut milk hot chocolate. Give it a try, it’s like drinking a walnut brownie!
Don’t let the name fool you, Pickathon is a festival about much more than just guitars. Now in its 22nd year, the Oregon fest’s 2022 lineup is once again an eclectic mix of artists from a range of diverse genres. Grammy-nominated roots music singer Valerie June joins London Afrofuturist jazz quartet Sons Of Kemet and Nashville indie-folk singer Faye Webster as some of our top of the lineup highlights for the festival which takes place from August 4th to 7th at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon (a 25-minute drive from Portland).
Pickathon always has an eye on sustainability and building the festival into the woods at Pendarvis Farm is a polymorphic undertaking each year which promises new horizons in 2022.
“Pickathon will use the topography and natural setting of the site to design and build a series of neighborhoods that nestle deeper into the grounds of Pendarvis Farm,” a press release says. “When the sun is high in the sky, festival goers will discover new forested music stages, set under the natural shade of the evergreen trees of the Pacific Northwest. As the sun sets, they’ll move to meadows with sweeping vistas of Mt Hood to enjoy open air programming on stages that come alive at night.”
We’re especially hyped on other acts on the lineup like familiar faces at Pickahton in Built To Spill and Hurray For The Riff Raff, as well rappers Sampa The Great, Armanda Hammer, and the worldly sounds of Quantic.
Check out the full lineup on the festival poster below and visit Pickathon.com for full details. Tickets for Pickathon are now on sale here.
Rihanna’s Vogue story is a gift that keeps on giving. In addition to describing how she changed up her album recording process, she also revealed some fun details about her relationship with ASAP Rocky. In one of her yarns, she detailed a road trip that the couple took near the start of their relationship in 2020 that involved a road trip, tye-die T-shirts, and a “little janky grill I bought from Walmart.” The stories showed how, despite her recently becoming a billionaire, Rihanna and Rocky have focused on keeping their pairing down to earth.
“I love the simple things but also the grand adventures,” she said. “There’s no pretentious, ‘my-brand-your-brand’ bulls*t; it’s just us living. I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”
Rihanna also said that the rapper had to pass the mom test, something that not all of her exes have been able to do. After bringing Rocky to Barbados for the holidays in 2020, she said he won mom’s approval. “My mother has a really good read on people,” she said. “She observes first, and then she’ll move slowly. I guess I’m like that too. There are some guys that I’ve dated that she won’t even look at to this day. But she was charmed by him from the jump.”
As for that “janky grill,” which she says they used to cook all their food on that road trip, she still has it, and says “it works like nobody’s business.”
It took me a long time to become a hyper-productive stoner. Back when weed came in a sandwich bag from the skate park, weed was… weed. Whether the eighth you bought from a kid with a Ramones shirt and a shoelace belt made you sleepy or uppity, that was your weed for the week. Period. I would roll into school so fucking high on strains you never hear about anymore (Mr. Nice Guy, GDP, etc) only to sneak out, promptly, and lay in the meadow behind the gym, mesmerized by the eucalyptus trees.
At the time, I thought cannabis was hindering my ability to function as a normal 14-year-old. But really, I just didn’t know shit about weed. No one did back then.
If little Lindsay could see me now, ripping a bong in the morning and conducting important weed business, she would be thrilled. As my relationship with the plant continues to evolve, I’ve found certain strains of cannabis can work better than a cup of coffee, invigorating your mind and body into a seamless flow state of productivity.
Speaking personally (because we all have different biology), I’ve found the best terpenes for productivity are limonene, pinene, and terpinolene. Another important factor is making sure the THC percentage isn’t astronomical. That will fuck you up too much, ending in a blank stare and an equally blank Google doc. While everyone is different, if your weed smells like a magical land where a pine forest meets a lemon orchard, you’re generally good to go. If it’s dense, fruity, and sweet, you might want to hold off until later.
But before you mock this article, note this — most productivity aids suck. Coffee causes anxiety, Adderall is meth, and Redbull is jitters-inducing. If you have to contribute to capitalism, you should at least be stoned. Here are some of my favorite cultivars on the market right now for getting shit done and having fun doing it.
If you want to transform into a sentient energy beam that simply cannot be stopped, this is the weed for you. One of my favorite flowers of now, Sol Shine by Sol Spirit Farms is truly electric. Everything about this cultivar is perfect, in general, but especially for busy days when you need to be on point.
Grown under the sun by true master growers in Trinity County, this strain is high in terpinolene, which spurs creativity, and caryophyllene, which mutes anxiety. When I first opened the jar, I was slapped in the face in the best way possible. Spicy, bright, and full of life, you experience the jolt of its power just from the scent.
Sol Spirit
Smoking it is even better. The scent translates perfectly to flavor, and immediately you’re hit with a buzzy and cerebral high. This strain is unique in that in addition to THC and CBD, CBG is present — which has strong anti-inflammatory effects, among other physical benefits.
I took a bong hit and immediately started cleaning, which I usually hate but didn’t mind this time. After manically straightening things for a while, I realized I should channel this energy burst into my work. The high is clear and capable, free from the anxiety that can come with these high energy strains. I sat down, wrote the intro to this article at lightning speed, and here we are.
The Bottom Line:
This weed feels exactly like the name sounds. Bright, just like the sun.
My love affair with Greenline’s Orange Tree knows no bounds. I always have some on deck, and smoke it almost every morning. Where to begin? First of all, it smells and tastes fucking incredible. Bursting with orange blossoms, tangerines, and something sweet like honey, the nugs are frosty, perfectly dense, and crunchy.
The flavor is straight-up orange blossoms and the high is whimsical and upbeat. I love this weed for creative work, writing, and generally becoming a brighter version of myself.
The Bottom Line:
Equal parts soothing and energizing, this is a great weed for any time, anywhere, but especially if you want to work on something creative and have fun doing it.
Durban Poison by Farm Cut (Whitethorn Valley Farm)
Durban Poison is one of my favorite productivity strains, a classic “get up and go” flower. While I tend to love Durban in all forms, this is one of the best iterations I’ve encountered. Fluffy, crystalline, and bright green with orange accents, this sun-grown bud by Whitethorn Valley Farm in Humboldt is available through Farm Cut, a farmer-run collective that offers some of the most epic weed on the market.
I came across this flower at Weedcon and begged them to give me some because the smell was just so spectacular. It’s sharp, pungent, heavy on the pine, and spicy at the end. The dominant terpenes are pinene and terpinolene, which means you’ll be focused, inspired, and excited.
If it looks a little leafy, that’s because it is. Farm Cut believes trimming too tight destroys the trichomes, and they’re right. The less processed the better. This flower exists in its purest form, straight from their farm to you.
The first time I smoked it I fell in love with the dreamy, energetic feeling. The vibration of this flower is very high, and so was I. Physically, I immediately felt the urge to create something. Mentally, I became thoughtful in an ethereal way. A great combination for working on a personal project or something you like doing.
The Bottom Line:
This flower is energizing and starry-eyed, allowing you to dream big, then make it a reality.
Claybourne crushes it every time, and this Lemon Margy is no exception. I use this flower the way normal people use coffee, and smoke it when I’m feeling lazy or caught in a web of anxiety-induced procrastination.
It’s zingy! In every way! The nugs are bright and robust and covered in orange hairs. The smell is a lemon pine wonderland that is razor-sharp, cutting straight to the sensation of energy.
To smoke this is to become electric. No matter the circumstances, this flower wakes me up, and throws me into gear, whatever that gear may entail. Before a party that I don’t want to go to, before an article I don’t want to write — whatever it is that you don’t want to do but definitely should, she’s your girl.
The Bottom Line:
A lemon pine masterpiece that will wake your ass up.
Country is an interesting new brand focused on THC:CBD ratio blends that make you feel fun and social and not like a zombie. The first time I tried their Bienvenida prerolls was in the car on the way home from a weed event. I didn’t know what to expect, but the dry hit passed my test with flying limonene-flavored colors, and the smoke followed suit.
Personally, I love that they have CBD flower (Tsunami) mixed with the normal THC weed (Durban) at a 1:3 ratio. Contrary to popular belief, CBD in weed is good! It counteracts the negative side effects of THC like paranoia and anxiety, and rounds the high in a pleasant way that’s great for working or going to a party.
The flavor is overwhelmingly lemony, with notes of pungent pine. Obviously, I’m a sucker for this flavor profile, especially when I’m trying to work. The high is a bit of a creeper, strong in a different way than I’m used to. I think it’s because of the ratio, but I felt jubilant, bright, and cerebrally stoned.
Last but not least we have the gorgeous specimen that is Golden Hour by the indoor weed wizards at Maven. Optically, this weed is insane. Sparkling with crystals, green, orange, purple and blue. Structurally, the buds are pretty much perfect, and I like the crisp feeling of breaking them apart.
Opening the jar, the aroma is intoxicating. Lush and deep, it conjures wildflowers in the nighttime and the earth after rain. There’s a distinct gas aroma that follows, completing this complex profile.
Distinctly different from the high-energy strains on this list, Golden Hour is languid and thoughtful, bringing you to a place where everything is okay. Worries float by like a cloud. I like this strain for work because it just makes everything feel better. A lot of the time not wanting to work is because you’re experiencing negative emotions or anxiety or stress. This flower frees you from all the nonsense, liberating you to create or care less about the fact that you have to work when you don’t want to.
Buoyant and euphoric without bringing you down, the name says it all.
The Bottom Line:
Perfect for getting through your last stretch of daily obligations, then easing into the serenity of a sunset.
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